What a beautiful place. I got in last night, calm as a kitten, despite my embarrassingly pitiful rendition of the spanish language. Arrived at the Cranky Croc, a hostel in La Candelaria. A funky little establishment with a quaint cafe, communal kitchen and mossy courtyard inside. Wandering around the city today I found myself coming to street corners and choosing my direction by looking for the next patch of trees or a photo-worthy piece of graffiti. Bought a compass for a dollar and a chocolate croissant for fifty cents. Looming over the city is a lush mountainside mostly shrouded in clouds. Wild flowers grow on the rooftops and besides all the road construction, the run-down, paint-peeling architecture invokes an exotic sort of nostalgia. Once again I find myself, a stranger in an unknown land, the scent of adventure at every turn.
